Apparatus for folding and cutting paper

An apparatus for folding and cutting a continuous length of paper, the paper having a longitudinal direction and fold lines spaced along the longitudinal direction, the fold lines dividing the paper into a series of adjacent sheets, said apparatus comprising:

• a folding mechanism for moving the paper in a zigzag fashion to fold the paper across the fold lines and to stack the sheets on top of each other;
• a vertically movable supporting table for supporting the sheets stacked by said folding mechanism, said supporting table descending according to the quantity of sheets supported thereon;
• and
• a cutting mechanism for cutting the paper when a desired quantity of sheets is supported on said supporting table, said cutting mechanism having a cutting edge with a tip which is pierced into an upper surface of one of the sheets while the sheet is being folded onto the stack and before an adjacent sheet is moved by the folding mechanism to be folded onto the stack, said cutting edge descending with said supporting table as the paper is folded, the cutting edge moving horizontally to cut the paper at one of the fold lines when said supporting table reaches a predetermined position.